Faith Nyasuguta
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced on Sunday that Malaysia has officially applied to join the BRICS group, indicating the country’s willingness to become either a member or a strategic partner. The application letter was sent to Russia, which currently holds the BRICS chairmanship.
During his talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who is visiting Malaysia, Ibrahim highlighted that joining BRICS was a central topic of discussion. Lavrov’s visit coincides with Russia’s assumption of the rotating presidency of BRICS on January 1.
On the same day, BRICS expanded its membership to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. While Saudi Arabia has not yet formalized its participation, it has been involved in BRICS meetings.
As of February, nearly three dozen countries had expressed interest in joining BRICS, according to South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor. This surge in interest followed the bloc’s first significant expansion in over a decade, which saw the inclusion of Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Ethiopia, and Egypt.
The expanding BRICS membership has been seen as a strategic win for China and Russia, who are advocating for an international system that is less dominated by the United States and Western powers. BRICS, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, positions itself as a counterbalance to the Group of Seven (G7) major developed economies.
China has been a key proponent of this expansion, with President Xi Jinping pushing for an alternative global order and forging closer ties with key international players.
The recent expansion and continued interest from additional countries also benefit Russia, which faces economic and diplomatic isolation from the West due to its invasion of Ukraine. As the current chair, Russia sees this as an opportunity for President Vladimir Putin to assert himself on the global stage, particularly during the annual BRICS summit, which will be held in October in Kazan, Russia.
Last year, all BRICS leaders except Putin, who participated virtually due to an International Criminal Court warrant for his arrest related to alleged war crimes in Ukraine, gathered in person in Johannesburg. Putin has encouraged countries interested in cooperating with BRICS to engage in events and discussions, as reported by the Russian state news agency Tass.
BRICS began as a summit-level meeting between Brazil, Russia, India, and China in 2009, expanding to include South Africa two years later. The recent inclusion of six new countries, excluding Argentina, which declined to join after electing a new far-right administration, adds significant geopolitical and economic muscle to the group.
This expansion includes major oil-producing Gulf economies, which enhances the bloc’s influence. Both Russia and China have also strengthened their ties with Iran, with China notably facilitating the restoration of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
BRICS finance ministers are working on using local currencies for transactions among member states and developing international payment platforms to address what they see as an unfair and costly payment system, as noted by South Africa’s Pandor.
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